Big Week For Orlando City Soccer

Orlando City made amends for a poor performance on Saturday when they lost 1-0 to Pittsburgh Riverhounds with a polished and professional performance against VSI Tampa at Plant City last night.

On a sodden field Orlando always looked in control of the game and unlike Saturday’s match, moved the ball around the field well.The 3-0 win clinched a play off spot for the 2013 USL PRO postseason, which begins the weekend of August 23 – 25.

It was a performance that satisfied Orlando City Head Coach Adrian Heath who said: “It’s a great response from the players tonight after Saturday night. We regrouped today and put fresh legs in, getting some really good performances. We have to focus on Wednesday’s match, but this certainly puts us on a good platform moving forward.”

The two teams square off again on Wednesday night at Orlando’s Citrus Bowl with a kick off time of 7.30pm. Before then though, matters off the field in regard to the clubs MLS bid will take center stage as the club makes a presentation to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners in regard to finalizing the financing structure for the development of a multi purpose soccer stadium in downtown Orlando.

The first presentation will be delivered to the Orange County Board of Commissioners on August 6, and the second will be to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) on August 9. Both meetings will be held at the County Administration Building on Rosalind Avenue.

“We have always said that if we could agree to a private/public partnership to build the soccer stadium, then Major League Soccer (MLS) would be a reality for Orlando,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to present our plans to the County Commissioners and the TDC. We have a great story to tell for all of Central Florida and look forward to gaining this crucial support for this exciting project.”

The proposed stadium has been recently re-worked into a two-phase plan, with the first phase estimated at $85 million. The $20 million requested from the TDT will contribute to a financing plan for phase one, which consists of $30 million subsidized by the team’s ownership. The team would be responsible for any building cost overruns and will also fund 100 percent of the Major League Soccer expansion fees.

Securing a stadium-funding plan will allow club officials to complete expansion negotiations with MLS with the goal to have a franchise awarded in 2013. The team would begin play in MLS by Spring 2015.